Finger support for bowlers



Dec. 5, 1961 K. L. PELL FINGER SUPPORT FOR BOWLERS Filed March 23, 1959 INVENTOR. Ka/man L. PE// BY .JM/d/w di f United StatesPatent 3,011,171 FINGER SUPPORT FOR BOWLERS Kalman L. Pei], Box 147, Genesee, Idaho Filed Mar. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 801,365 3 Claims. (Cl. 221) The present invention relates to a finger support for bowlers. It is'already known that in controlling the bowling ball as it leaves the hand it is desired to maintain one or more of the fingers that enter the holes in the ball in a bent position. In fact, a device intended for this purpose is shown in the Paisley Patent No. 2,732,555.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an improved device adaptable to the hand of the wearer which will maintain the necessary control of the position of a bowling finger at the proper bend which is found most advantageous for that bowler. The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred form of the invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing a portion of a bowling ball in section with the thumb and one finger illustrated as entering the openings in the bowling ball, no attempt being made to show the hand correctly because normally the index finger would not be inserted in the bowling ball and in the hand shown, no

showing of the device;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1 but with the bowling ball left out;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the complete finger support;

FIGURE 4 is a view in side elevation of a simplified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3. I

Referring now in detail to the drawings, my improved finger support for bowlers embodies a finger ring 10 which is originally formed tofit the finger of the bowler who is using the device. This ring 10'carries a curved guide 11 which guides a correspondingly curved slidable bar member 12 that is adapted to lie against the back side of the finger and extend past the junction of the finger with the hand so as to be braced by the back of the hand. The bar member 12 has a bracket 14 mounted on the back thereof and it is clamped in adjusted position to the guide 11 by a set screw 13 or its equivalent. The bracket 12 supports a front finger brace carrying arm 15 which carries a brace 16 that is curved to fit fairly closely to the contour of the finger between the two joints intermediate the ends of the finger. The brace 16 has its tip portion 17 curved away from the finger to avoid pinching at this point.'

The arm 15 is mounted at an angle to the bracket 14 which approaches a right angle. This angle may possibly be adjusted for comfort and best operation in the case of any bowler. The arm 15 is therefore pivoted on the bracket 14, the bracket being provided with a sleeve 18 through which a screw bolt 19 extends. The screw bolt 19 extends through the arm 15 and serves to clamp the arm 15 to the bracket 14.

The device can be worn by the bowler with just the parts thus far described being used. However, since weak fingers are often accompanied with wrists that tend also to be incapable of handling the bowling ball without bending, I provide a wrist band 20 with a sleeve 21 that is formed to receive the back end of the member 12. This provides a complete assembly that can be used by the bowler to maintain a finger at the particular angle that will help him in controlling the path the ball will make when it is thrown.

Where the devices can be made strictly to measurement after the bowler has had experience with them, they may then be formed as shown in FIGURE 4 wherein the member 12' has integral therewith a finger brace 16' which is set at the desired angle required by the bowler. The device also includes a ring 10" spaced from the junction 22 of the member 12 in the brace 16'. The ring 10" can be held in adjusted position by a set screw 13 in the same manner as in the preferred form of the invention. This device has the advantage that it provides the same bracing of the finger as the device in the main form of the invention without the projections such as the bracket 14 and the arm 15. It has the disadvantage that the angle of the brace 16 with respect to the member 12 is not adjustable. Adjustment of this angle is frequently found to be necessary after the bowler adapts himself to the use of the device.

A feature of the invention which is vitally important to its operation is the employment of the finger ring 10 or 10' in a position spaced from the junction of the bracket 14 with the arm 15 or the junction of the parts 12' and 16. The ringneeds to be in the middle of the section of the finger between the hand and the first adjacent joint. This position, when coupled with the extension of the member 12 over the back of the'hand, pro- 1 vides bracing of the joint connecting the finger to the hand which often times is the point of weakness. ring in addition, of course, retains the'finger' brace 16in the proper position with respect to the finger.

With this device it is possible for the bowler to avoid straightening of the finger as the ball leaves the hand and thusobtain the advantages of imparting a spin to the ball that causes it to hook away from the gutter toward the center of the alley.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim:

1. A finger support comprising a circumferential finger ring having fixed to the back portion thereof a guide extending parallel to the axis of the ring, an elongated rigid bar member slidably fitted to said guide adapted to extend along the back of the finger and over the back of the hand, said bar member having a finger brace thereon at one end, said finger brace being angularly disposed with respect to said bar and being projected across the ring axis, and manually adjustable means adapted to secure said bar member against sliding movement within said guide relative to said ring.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the finger brace is concave on the face toward the ring.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 further comprising locking pivot means joining said finger brace and said bar member adapted to permit pivotal motion of said fingerbrace about an axis perpendicular to the ring axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS The" I 

